Gold Beach

Gold Beach was the codename given to one of five sectors invaded during the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944 during D-Day in World War II. The British XXX Corps was to secure the beachhead, move west to Arromanches and establish contact with American forces at Omaha Beach to the west, take Bayeux and Port-en-Bessin, and link up with Canadian forces at Juno Beach to the east. The beach was held by the mostly-Ukrainian conscripts of the 716th Static Infantry Division as well as the German 352nd Infantry Division, and the Germans offered fierce resistance. The British tanks were unable to move further inland after being swamped down, but the British used Hobart's Funnies to clear the beach defenses and allow for the infantry to advance. The Royal Navy's bombardment succeeded in destroying three out of four German defensive guns at the Longues-sur-Mer battery, and the British infantry cleared out heavily fortified houses along the shore before advancing inland. The British would go on to secure Port-en-Bessin a day later, and they were able to advance into the French countryside.